A large portion of our funding will be provided over the first two years of the multi-year period, with funding in the second year normally higher than in the first, and then tapering down in the remaining years. We front-load our funding in the early years because we strongly believe in the importance of doing the few most critical actions very well; usually these early actions drive the success of the entire effort. The reason funding in the first year is usually lower than in the second is because we recognize that organizations need time to absorb the change they will effect.

Even when we forge an investment agreement that spells out a five-year partnership, we may disburse all of our funding in the first three or four years of the partnership. The strategic assistance portion of our partnership continues for the entire term of the agreement and, usually, will continue in some form after that.

Continued funding after the first year is contingent upon the achievement by our investment partners of agreed-upon milestones, with the expectation that the milestones are to be met or exceeded. However, we also consider substantial progress when results are close to but have not reached the exact milestone level.